What It Means to Be the Old Heavenly Master's True Disciple (international lean-back.jpg)

The County Magistrate of Prison Dragon County ordered every accomplished master in the county to be invited to the County Yamen. Such a grand display could not possibly be kept under wraps, and so word of the haunting at the County Yamen last night spread as well.

For a time, all of Prison Dragon County was thrown into an uproar!

The County Yamen was an important court stronghold!

Yet it was haunted!!

Combined with the ghost stories from some time ago, as well as people fanning the flames as they spread the rumors...

In less than half a day, the people of Prison Dragon County had begun to panic.

Who was not afraid of ghosts?

Especially in this World of Gods and Anomalies, where demons, monsters, ghosts, and specters truly existed!

That only made it more terrifying!

At this moment, a group of people had already gathered inside the County Yamen.

However... they were neither yamen officers nor officials of the County Yamen.

They were a group of monks!

And a group of Daoists!

These people were the "accomplished masters" and "extraordinary talents" invited by the County Magistrate of Prison Dragon County.

As for how many among them truly had real ability...

Only Heaven knew.

Outside the County Yamen stood a crowd of yamen officers and county officials.

Among them...

Were the County Magistrate and County Assistant of Prison Dragon County!

It was not that they did not want to go inside.

They simply did not dare!

"My lord, are these plump, round-faced monks and Daoists really useful? Why not notify the Imperial Astronomy Bureau and have them send someone over? The County Yamen is an important court site. By rights, demons and ghosts should not be able to enter it..."

"Any demon or ghost capable of entering the County Yamen must be a great demon or a great ghost. Can these fat fellows really handle it?"

The speaker was the County Assistant of Prison Dragon County.

The Great Zhou Dynasty's administrative divisions were simple—village, county, prefecture, commandery, kingdom.

The County Assistant was the second-in-command of a county.

The County Magistrate was the first-in-command.

"Absolutely not! We cannot let the Imperial Astronomy Bureau come!" Upon hearing the suggestion, the County Magistrate of Prison Dragon County reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

He lowered his voice and said through gritted teeth, "Those people are stubborn to the bone, every last one of them impervious to reason."

"Once they arrive, in order to investigate everything thoroughly, they will turn Prison Dragon County upside down! If they find demons or ghosts, that is fine. It has nothing to do with us."

"But if they uncover something else, tell me... how many heads do you have for them to chop off?"

The County Assistant heard this.

Cold sweat streamed down his back!

Prison Dragon County was remote and poor, but the more remote and impoverished a place was... the easier it was for them to exploit loopholes and rake in silver!

From top to bottom, how many people in the entire Prison Dragon County Yamen had clean hands?

If no one investigated, things were fine.

But once someone looked into it...

Not one of them could escape!!

"But, my lord... if these monks and Daoists cannot resolve this matter, the Imperial Astronomy Bureau will learn of it sooner or later!" the County Assistant worriedly said. "It is not that I look down on them, but compared with that Old Heavenly Master, they are truly far inferior. It is a pity that the Old Heavenly Master is no longer among the living."

"My lord, why are you not panicking at all? Do you truly believe these people can deal with the... filthy things inside the County Yamen?"

Hearing this, the County Magistrate of Prison Dragon County smiled. "Have you forgotten someone?"

The County Assistant froze. "Forgotten someone?!"

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck him.

A name surfaced in his mind, and he blurted out, "Could it be Daoist Master Fan from Dragon-Imprisoning Monastery! The Old Heavenly Master's true disciple?!"

The County Magistrate nodded and said, "I do not know whether the other monks and Daoists have genuine ability, but the Old Heavenly Master's true disciple most certainly does. Constable Liu has already told me everything that happened last night. Daoist Master Fan dispatched an evil ghost so thoroughly that its soul scattered and its spirit dispersed in just a few moves!"

"I have already had Constable Liu invite him here again. The others are merely there to accompany Daoist Master Fan, invited only so they may assist him."

"Haa... then that is good. With Daoist Master Fan here, the strange incident at the County Yamen should not reach the Imperial Astronomy Bureau." The County Assistant let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Yet his expression...

Still showed lingering fear.

Dragon-Imprisoning Monastery was still some distance from the County Yamen, but Fan Wu did not need to walk there himself.

Because Constable Liu and the others who had come to invite Fan Wu had prepared a sedan chair.

That was right.

This was the kind of treatment Fan Wu received in Prison Dragon County, and he had his swindler master to thank for it.

As for why there had been no sedan chair last night?

Who would carry a sedan chair in the middle of the night? Were they not afraid that, in the darkness, one misstep would send them tumbling straight down the mountain?

Constable Liu walked at the front.

Several Runners served as miserable beasts of burden, carrying Fan Wu's sedan chair all the way from the mountain monastery down the slope, then from the foot of the mountain to the marketplace.

The Runners panted heavily as they hurried along the marketplace's bluestone road toward the County Yamen of Prison Dragon County.

"We're here, we're here!" Though Constable Liu had not worked as a laborer carrying the sedan chair, the walk alone had exhausted him. Looking toward the County Yamen not far ahead, he hurriedly said, "Daoist Master Fan has arrived. I can already see the County Magistrate and the County Assistant!"

The sedan chair was set down, and the Runners' legs went weak beneath them. They had nearly collapsed from exhaustion.

After Fan Wu stepped out.

He felt rather disappointed.

The sedan chair had not been comfortable at all. Perhaps it was because the space inside was too cramped, but it had instead left him feeling stifled.

It seemed he was not especially accustomed to the cushy life of those above others.

Fan Wu looked toward the County Yamen ahead.

He narrowed his eyes.

To be honest.

This was his first time visiting an official court institution since crossing over. He had to admit that the County Yamen's furnishings carried a sense of authority, while the two massive stone lions at its entrance looked especially imposing.

The commotion surrounding Fan Wu's arrival was not small. After all, several Runners had carried him here in a sedan chair.

The moment he appeared.

He drew countless gazes.

"Daoist Master Fan!" Not far away, a portly middle-aged man in official robes, wearing a black gauze cap and sporting a beard, immediately recognized Fan Wu the moment he saw his unusually towering height and excessively burly build.

Then, as though he had spotted some close relative, his face blossomed into a smile in the blink of an eye, and he hurried over. "You have finally arrived!"

As soon as the portly middle-aged man approached, the crowd beside him followed in a great dark mass.

Clearly, this group took him as their leader.

And he was the County Magistrate of Prison Dragon County!

Fan Wu had seen him once some time ago and knew that this was Prison Dragon County's "parent official," He Caisheng.

That name sounded like someone very good at making money.

He glanced at the tops of the County Magistrate's and the others' heads. The lines of attribute information there immediately caught his attention.

[Prison Dragon County Magistrate He Caisheng—Life: 54—Strength: 0.9—Skill: Official Qi Protection]

[Prison Dragon County Assistant Li Shen—Life: 77—Strength: 1.2—Skill: Official Qi Protection]

[Prison Dragon County Prison Scribe...]

[...]

People with skills?

Why were their [Strength] values still so weak despite having skills?

Could this [Official Qi Protection] merely be a passive skill, something they themselves could not control?

Fan Wu noticed that everyone possessing this skill held an official post within the Great Zhou Dynasty!

And it had to be a ranked official post!

The County Magistrate was seventh rank.

The County Assistant was eighth rank.

Perhaps... even they themselves did not know that something like this could protect them.

"Daoist Master Fan, the evil ghosts are running rampant!" At that moment, the smile vanished from Prison Dragon County Magistrate He Caisheng's face, replaced by a stern and indignant expression. "What place is this? This is the County Yamen of Prison Dragon County in the Great Zhou Dynasty, where the court conducts official business!"

"Yet last night, it was disturbed by evil ghosts! Those evil ghosts truly have no regard for the court, no regard for His Majesty! Such outrageous rebellion deserves to be condemned by all under Heaven!"

"I am furious!!!"

That change in expression was far too smooth. If no little golden statuette was awarded to him, it would truly be unjustifiable.

Everything County Magistrate He Caisheng said about the court and His Majesty was, in truth, for his own sake.

Fan Wu could tell... he was afraid.

Afraid of the evil ghosts inside the County Yamen!

At last, Fan Wu spoke. Yet what he said did not follow the usual script, nor did he beat around the bush. It was exceedingly straightforward.

"County Magistrate He, this poor Daoist remembers you promised a reward if I exterminated the Blue-faced Water Ghost in the river. I wonder, does County Magistrate He still remember that matter?"

"Ah?!"